RR Phantom
Location : Wasted Space
Job/hobbies : Cayman Islands Actuary
 |  Subject: OZschwitz gulag: Juvenile detainees' shocking histories  Mon Apr 11, 2011 10:39 pm | |
| MORE than half the young people in NSW juvenile detention facilities were abused as children, and nearly 40 per cent of the girls were sexually abused, a government report reveals.
The report by Justice Health and Juvenile Justice paints a bleak picture of the backgrounds of children and young people in the state's juvenile prisons.
Nearly one-third of the girls have been pregnant, with the average age of first having sex 13.1 years for Aboriginal youngsters and 13.6 for non-Aborigines. Thirteen was also the average age the detainees reported first being drunk.
The 2009 NSW Young People in Custody Health Survey reveals that more than 27 per cent of incarcerated young people (and 40 per cent of young women) had a history of foster or kinship care.
In almost half the cases, the incarcerated youngsters had a parent who had been in prison at some time; the proportion rose to 61 per cent for Aboriginal youngsters.
The report shows high levels of mental disorders and intellectual disabilities among detainees.
Almost 90 per cent were found to have at least one psychological disorder. Among girls, 23 per cent had attempted suicide and 28 per cent had been admitted to a psychiatric unit.
The state director of Mission Australia, Leonie Green, said the findings were a damning indictment of the approach to juvenile justice, which relied too heavily on locking up young people and not enough on diversion programs.
''When you look at the population of juveniles in custody, how can anyone believe that detention is an appropriate response?'' she asked.
''These young detainees are a product of years of violence and neglect, and many have intellectual disabilities.''
The Attorney-General, Greg Smith, said the situation, particularly in relation to Aboriginal detainees, was disgraceful.
''We have to do our best to keep young people out of detention centres,'' he said. ''With young people, you have more chance of saving them from a life of crime at that stage than later on.''
About 450 young people are in detention at any given time, many for a week or less, but over the course of a year there are about 5000 admissions, the report says.
Between the last health study in 2003 and the 2009 survey, the proportion of incarcerated youngsters who are Aboriginal rose from 41.7 per cent to 47.8 per cent, while they represent 4 per cent of the state's adolescent population.
The 2009 report says two-thirds of inmates had been drunk at least weekly in the year before going into custody, and the same proportion had used illicit drugs weekly, predominantly cannabis.
Significantly more Aboriginal young people (72 per cent versus 58 per cent) regularly used drugs and alcohol.
In highlighting the significant over-representation of Aboriginal children, the report calls for better programs at all levels of the juvenile justice system, from prevention to after release.
A review of juvenile justice, commissioned by the previous NSW juvenile justice minister, Graham West, who resigned when its recommendations were shelved, gave a clear road-map for reform, Ms Green said.
ANCAPS: ANARCHO-CAPITALISTS
_________________
Anarcho Capitalists Retail , OZschwitz Downunder BoutiqueAnarcho-Capitalists,AnCaps Forum,Anti-State,Anti-Statist,Inalienable Rights Defenders,Non-Aggression Principle,Non-Initiation of Force Principle,Rothbardians,Anarchist,Capitalist,objectivism,Ayn Rand,Anarcho-Capitalism,Anarcho-Capitalist,politics,libertarianism,Ancap Forum,Anarchist Forum,Vulgar Libertarians,Hippies of The Right,Forum for Anarcho-Capitalist,Forum for Anarcho-Capitalists,Forum for AnCap,Forum for AnCaps,Libertarian,Anarcho-Objectivist,Freedom, Laissez Faire, Free Trade, Black Market, Randroid, Randroids, Rothbardian, AynArchist, Anarcho-Capitalist Forum, Anarchism, Anarchy, Free Market Anarchism, Free Market Anarchy, Market Anarchy
 |
|
